LIKE OLD FRIENDS IN A CAKE SHOP – Hoboken’s celebrity chef, Buddy “The Cake Boss” Valastro, endorsed Gov. Chris Christie for reelection to the state’s top office on Thursday at a press conference outside Carlo’s Bake Shop on Washington Street. Both men talked about the importance of small business, and Christie said that he planned to “cut taxes, lower fees and eliminate regulations” for small businesses during his second term. Both men also discussed their New Jersey pride.

Judge rules against placing rent control question on special October ballot; appeal to be heard Sept. 10

A Superior Court judge filed an injunction on Thursday against Hoboken landlords and property owners' effort to place an initiative to discontinue rent control in Hoboken on the ballot for the October special Senate election. The judge did so because an appeal of the initiative, filed by a tenants’ rights group, is not scheduled to be heard until after the printing deadline for the October ballots.

The initiative was defeated in last November’s election, but a landlords' group successfully protested the way the vote was conducted in the wake of the hurricane. The new vote is supposed to be on the ballot in either October or November. A judge said that he thought the issue should be voted on after the tenants get the right to appeal the election’s overturning, which they have alleged was based on faulty evidence.

Earlier this year, another judge, Christine Farrington, ruled that the question be placed on the next Special General Election ballot. When former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) died in June, the Mile Square Taxpayer Association (MSTA), the landlords, argued that the question be placed on the ballot for the October election to decide Lautenberg’s replacement.

However, the tenants, represented by a member of the Hoboken Fair Housing Association (HFHA), Cheryl Fallick, argued that their date to appeal the overturning of the election, Sept. 10, was after the printing date for the October election. The judge sided with HFHA, though a representative for MSTA said his group would appeal the decision.

“This ruling makes it seem as if the appeal is more important than the original ruling, and that’s not true,” said Ron Simoncini, the representative.

But Fallick said that HFHA members were thrilled with the news and are looking forward to their Sept. 10 day in court.

“Presumably, this means that we’ll get to appeal the judge’s decision to overturn the election and if we win, we win, and if we don’t, we’ll be on the November ballot,” she said.

Zimmer won’t endorse in gubernatorial race, says Tweet

Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who has praised the work of Gov. Christopher Christie in the wake of Hurricane Sandy last year, told a Star Ledger reporter at an event in Little Ferry last Tuesday that she would not be offering an endorsement in the upcoming November gubernatorial race. Christie, a Republican, faces off against Assemblywoman Barbara Buono, a Democrat.

“I don’t expect to be endorsing,” said Zimmer, according to a tweet from Jenna Portnoy, the Ledger reporter who covers Christie.

Later, Zimmer, who is involved in her own reelection campaign, Tweeted that she thought Christie has “done a great job for NJ & Hoboken.”

Several Democratic mayors in Hudson County have crossed party lines to endorse Christie, including State Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack.

City to hold Spaghetti Dinner Block Party

Tickets are available for the City of Hoboken’s upcoming Spaghetti Dinner Block Party, which is set to take place Thursday, Aug. 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sinatra Drive between First and Second Streets.

Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. A table of 10 costs $200. Seating is limited.

Dinner includes four kinds of pasta, meatballs, sausage, eggplant, salad, bread and dessert. Wine, beer, water, and soda will also be available at additional cost and sold to raise funds for the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Outside alcohol not permitted. Coolers will be checked at the entrance.

Tickets can be purchased on the second floor of City Hall in the Dept. of Cultural Affairs.

Checks should be made out to the City of Hoboken and can be mailed to the Hoboken Division of Cultural Affairs, 94 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Include a piece of paper with your name, address & phone number and how many tickets you would like to purchase.

For more information, call 201-420-2207 or gfallo@hobokennj.org.

Monroe Center to showcase Mexican artist starting Sept. 5

The Clariond Gallery at the Monroe Center for the Arts, Hoboken’s only art gallery focused exclusively on Latin American art, will present the creations of Mexican artist Alejandrina Herrera from Sept. 5 to Dec. 15.

The exhibition, entitled “How to Raise and Train” will showcase 16 creations by the

Artist, including pencil, paint and watercolor pieces.

Herrera’s work has been gaining momentum in her native country of Mexico and around the

world, according to a press release from the gallery. Her original and vibrant approach to the art of drawing has been drawing universal critical acclaim.

“For me, drawing has always been a significant form of expression,” Herrrera said in the release, “It is a hobby I have practiced and enjoyed since I was a child. During my academic pursuit as an

art student I worked with and explored different mediums but none of them compared to how

I felt about drawing.”

Alejandrina Herrera has exhibited in her native country of Mexico, at the Drexel Galería in Monterrey, Nuevo León, and in Houston and Dallas, Texas. This is her first exhibition in New York’s metropolitan area.

The Clariond Gallery is in the Monroe Center for the Arts, located at 720 Monroe Street, 4th Floor, Suite C-402.

Correction to last weekend’s edition

An article in last weekend’s edition of The Hoboken Reporter entitled “Will your rents and property taxes rise, or fall?” erroneously stated that only 114 votes had been cast in last year’s vote on the future of rent control in Hoboken. In fact, 16,444 votes were cast, and 114 are being disputed. Additionally, the article stated that there were two rent control initiatives on last year’s ballot. In fact, there was one on last year’s ballot, and one on the 2011 ballot a year earlier.